


The Hux Contemplation

by Thrawnduil



Series: The Growing Years [3]
Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternative Universe - Modern Setting, Attempted Rape/Non-Con
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-12 01:23:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11726598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thrawnduil/pseuds/Thrawnduil
Summary: Late one evening Orson Krennic gets a visit from none other than young Armitage Hux, who has just run away from his neighbour Snoke.





	The Hux Contemplation

**Author's Note:**

> Following up on the Schoolyard Scuffle we jump two years forward, where Jyn is around thirteen. I was hesitant to post an unfinished work but hopefully this will motivate me to write a bit faster. 
> 
> Any criticism is welcomed, since I'm not a native speaker, same goes for glaring plotholes or recommendations, throw them at me!  
> Hope you enjoy!

It was just a bit after ten in the evening, when the doorbell rang. Orson, having just finished washing up the dishes, after he had sent Jyn to bed. Thankfully the thirteen-year-old did not put up a fuss that evening, being thoroughly exhausted after a school trip that lasted the whole day. Orson fully expected Davits to be at the door, maybe with a few bottles of beer in hand. After Cassian’s adoption the police officer had started to come over every other evening to speak with Orson or - as Jyn and Cassian put it - to ‘hang out’ with him. They shared discussions about raising a child, sports, politic or even philosophy as much as beer or wine and over the last years the architect had come to appreciate the steadily building friendship with Davits. So he was in fact quite disappointed to see someone else, when he opened the door. “Armitage? A bit late for you to be walking around” he said in lieu of a greeting as he scrutinized the child standing at his front door. The dripping wet, barefoot child, he noticed. “Isn’t it a bit cold to be running around like that?” The kid, clad in a t-shirt and light pants, which clung to his small frame, was trembling like a leaf, hugging himself while he mumbled an answer. 

Orson ushered the boy inside, shooing him into the living room as Hux hesitated for a moment in the hall. “Come on let’s get you at least a towel. I’ll call your father to pick you up.” - “He’s not in town, Sir”, Hux immediately cut in. “I’m … I’m supposed to stay at our neighbour’s, but … he … I had to leave … and I didn’t even want to stay there in the first place. I wanted to stay at Phasma’s but she had to leave with her parents and then father insisted and I had to go to Snoke and…” It took Orson a moment to actually notice that the boy was starting to hyperventilate. “Hold on”, he interrupted him. “Slow down, take a deep breath, kid.” He waited patiently for Hux to comply. “Another one. Keep going, we can talk about that later okay? Let’s get you dried off first.” So much for just a towel then, he thought. “Come on, I’ll show you the bathroom and I’ll give you some dry clothes so we can have a conversation without you catching a cold.”

Thank god, Jyn had more of a boy’s taste in clothing than the typical girl stuff and since her and Armitage seemed to be roughly the same height, Orson just grabbed one of her larger sweatpants and one of his own sweatshirts for the boy. Armitage had waited shyly in the hallway, arms still slung around his shaking body. He was so thin, Orson noticed, probably even more slender than Jyn. The poor child looked as frail as a twig and from the few instances he had met Armitage, his composure fit right into the picture. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the kid was so docile and obedient, Orson thought. His father was treating him like a miniature soldier, denying the boy any glimpse of a normal, carefree childhood. 

He made sure that the child followed him and strode on towards the bathroom. Opening a cabinet he retrieved a few towels before he turned back to Armitage. “There you go son, some dry clothes and towels. I’ll leave you to it, okay? When you’re done you can come back down and we’ll talk. Take your time”, he smiled encouragingly. Armitage quickly nodded with a quiet “thank you” and waited until Orson had left the bathroom. It took him barely ten minutes to dry himself off and change, but in the meantime Orson had prepared a hot chocolate for the boy and a cup of coffee for himself, sensing that he would need it. Armitage came down the stairs, his eyes widening at the sight of the steaming mug. 

Poor child, he probably never had a hot chocolate before. He waited until Orson had seated himself in the armchair, before he sat down on the couch. Tentatively he reached for the hot chocolate, hands fiddling with the rim of the cup. “Thank you Mister Krennic”, he finally said quietly. He seemed lost for words. “I’m … I’m not sure where to start.” Orson refrained from his usual sarcastic answers, reminding himself that he was talking to a frightened child, not an adult. “You said that your father’s not in town, right?” Armitage nodded. “And that you had to stay at someone else’s house? How about we start with that?” The boy swallowed thickly, taking a deep breath, before he began to recount what had happened.

_“You can stay at Mister Snoke’s for the weekend, he said you’re always welcome at his house.” Hux cringed inwardly at the thought of Mister Snoke. The old man was their neighbour and a war veteran, which made his father an open admirer of the man. Snoke had been injured during his service and honorably discharged then. Some substance had exploded in his face and left a gruesome, disfiguring scar all over it. But even though Armitage had to admit that the scar had made him uncomfortable in the beginning, it was not the reason why he dreaded to stay at the veteran’s house. No, it was Snoke’s actions that resulted in a gut clenching fear inside the young boy whenever his father mentioned the name. Mister Snoke was always very friendly to Hux, offering him to make use of the game console he owned despite not playing with it himself, giving words of encouragement when he looked over Armitage’s homework for Brendol._

_But sometimes he seemed too friendly, almost lurking over the boy’s shoulder, a strange glint in his eyes. And the last time Armitage had stayed at his house, he had entered the guest room where the boy slept at night. Armitage had woken up from the gnarly hand of his neighbour, stroking over his back and bum, heavy breathing accompanying the unsettling action. The boy had curled up instinctively and Snoke miraculously stopped, leaving the room without a word. Since that day, Armitage had always avoided having to stay with his neighbour. Usually he could just ask his friend Phasma or even her friend Unamo to spend the weekend with them. This weekend, however, Phasma had to leave town with her parents for some military function that her dad hat to visit. And Unamo’s family had already guests over, so he could not stay there either._

_Armitage had been tempted to lie to his father, telling him that he would stay with Phasma. But he had been afraid that his father would call Phasma’s parents, as he usually did to confirm any of Armitage’s stays. And so he did not have any choice but to go to Mister Snoke. At first, the old man had just seemed genuinely happy to see Armitage again and after a bit of small talk left the boy to his own devices or, more precisely, to the game console. Nothing extraordinary had happened until Armitage went to bed, and the child had almost gotten over his fears. He had almost fallen asleep, the sound of the heavy rainfall calming him, when the door suddenly opened with a quiet creak._

_He hardly dared to even breathe, as the old man inched closer, the mattress dipping with his weight. Armitage bit his lip, trying to remain still while his worst fear became reality. One spindly hand stroked over his back all the way down, just like last time. Armitage moved a fraction, maybe Snoke would be scared off again. But this time the old man did not leave. Instead he pressed closer towards the child settling himself against his back. The hand continued to wander over the boy’s body, eventually reaching to his front, hesitating for a moment. Armitage almost shrieked when the long fingers dipped under his pajama pants. With a strength he had not known he possessed, the boy struggled out of Snoke’s grasp and dove straight for the door. Thankfully it took the old man several seconds to realise that his prey was not staying still and in those precious seconds Armitage charged out of the house, not daring to waste any time with shoes or a jacket. At first he just ran away from Snoke’s house without a real location in mind. His only thought was to get away from the man._

_The rain, however, did not let up and soon he found himself slowing down, his feet aching from hurrying barefoot over concrete and stone. The adrenaline that had aided him before, was also gone and left a freezing child behind, looking around for a place to stay the night. Ironically he recognised that he had run straight into Jyn Erso’s neighbourhood, his classmate. After their initial run-ins and fights in their first year, they had gradually gotten to know each other better. Armitage had even spent a few afternoons at her house, mostly for school projects. He never told his father, since he knew that he would forbid him any visits at Mister Krennic’s house. Now, however, he could not be happier that he had somehow ended up almost at the doorstep of his class mate._


End file.
